POISON

Wish there was some way to put a label on "gossip."  It is poison.  I detest it.  I don't participate in it, and I stop people from doing it around me.  Spreading rumors that are often lies, colors perceptions about people.  I wish there was some way to wake people up to the reality of the harm that can be done...just how destructive it is to speak ill of others when we may not know the truth or the whole story.  There is no such thing as "harmless" gossip.  And sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that we're just trying to be supportive, talking about someone's situation with someone else, when in reality, we're gossiping. 

I appreciate that old story about a woman coming to a man's deathbed and apologizing for gossiping about him and asked him to forgive her.  Her words had tarnished his reputation, and kept him from being able to do business successfully, and even interact with his neighbors in the way he had before the gossip started. 

The man said he would gladly forgive her if the woman would do him a favor.  "Take a feather pillow and cut it open and take it to the window."  She did as he said.  "Now empty the pillow."  And she did.  They watched as the feathers were carried off by the wind in every direction.  "Now go and gather all the feathers up.  Every single one"

"I can't do that...there's no way to find them all!"  She gasped.

Yes, that's what gossip does.  There's no way to bring back the words, no way to stop those words from flying to all the ends of the earth.

Maybe she left there changed.  I hope so.

"Aloha..."  May we bless others today.  Encourage, build up, speak well of people, believe the best of others until we know the whole truth, and then try to heal the world instead of using words to harm.